Guidelines for special admission and appeal

The University’s admission policies must comply with Washington State regulations and faculty-authorized requirements. It is the responsibility of the Office of Admissions to apply these standards consistently and fairly. The faculty recognizes, however, that exceptions should be granted occasionally for students in unusual situations.

Who Can Petition?

Any denied applicant may appeal. Generally, applicants petition if they believe their academic or personal circumstances could not be considered adequately through the normal freshman review process or that an error occurred in that review.

Waitlisted Applicants

Waitlisted freshmen may appeal.

If you appeal and the request is denied, you will remain on the waitlist until a final decision is made.

If you are later denied from the waitlist, you cannot appeal again.

What Are My Chances?

Keep in mind that your application was already carefully reviewed. Very few decisions are overturned on appeal — only about one in twenty.

How Do I Petition?

You, the applicant, must submit your appeal in writing, via the online form using your UW NetID. Your appeal should be no longer than three pages.

You will be required to upload an updated/current, high school transcript. Include a college transcript if you are enrolled in college coursework.

The Office of Admissions does not interview petitioners or consider in-person appeals. Meeting with admissions staff will not affect the outcome of a petition.

Artwork, portfolios, or writing samples will not be considered.

The body of your appeal should explain your reason for seeking reconsideration.

Your petition should be clear and concise in presenting your case for admission.

Keep in mind that we already reviewed your entire file and expected you to present everything of significance in the initial application.

If you believe we missed something of importance, you may direct our attention to it again.

What Issues Should My Petition Address?

You may include any information you think is important, but usually petitions address relevant items from the list below:

Why do you think you are an excellent candidate for the Seattle campus of the University of Washington?

Why do you believe you need to be at the Seattle campus of the University of Washington? Why at this time?

If your overall academic record is not as strong as it could be, why do you think it is a poor predictor of your future performance? Explain your academic record fully and tell us how you plan to be a successful student at the UW. Your explanation might include (but is not limited to) a discussion of circumstances and hardships, such as personal or family illness, factors related to a disability, or familial or cultural barriers that may have affected your academic performance and record.

If you are inadmissible because you have not completed all of the college academic distribution requirements, why were you unable to satisfy these requirements? How do you plan to complete this coursework once enrolled at the UW?

May I Submit Letters of Recommendation?

You may submit up to three letters of recommendation in support of your petition. Such letters must be uploaded to the petition web form and be submitted together with your appeal.

How and When Will I Be Notified?

You will be notified of the committee’s decision approximately 1-4 weeks after your petition has been received.

Disability Accommodation

Who Can Petition?

Applicants who have been denied may write a letter of petition requesting special consideration if they believe there are extenuating circumstances not explained in the Personal Statement, or if they believe an error has occurred in the initial evaluation.

When Do I Petition?

You may submit your written petition at any time during the application processing period of the quarter for which you are seeking admission. You don’t need to wait until you receive notification that you have been denied. If you have received a deny email, we prefer that your petition be submitted within two weeks of receiving a the denial.

How Do I Petition

You, the applicant, must submit your appeal in writing, preferably typed and no longer than three pages. Please mail your appeal to the address below.

List the following information for identification: your name, address, quarter and year of application, and type of application (in this case, transfer).

Include with your petition an updated, official transcript.

You may submit up to three letters of recommendation in support of your petition. Such letters must arrive with the petition.

The Office of Admissions does not interview petitioners or consider in-person appeals. Meeting with admissions staff will not affect the outcome of a petition.

Artwork, portfolios, or writing samples will not be considered.

The body of your appeal should explain your reason for seeking reconsideration.

Your petition should be clear and concise in presenting your case for admission.

Keep in mind that we already reviewed your entire file and expected you to present everything of significance in the initial application.

If you believe we missed something of importance, you may direct our attention to it again.

What Issues Should My Petition Address?

Compose your petition carefully, and proofread it. A petition should state your case clearly and effectively. The appearance of the petition and the quality of the writing (organization, content, spelling, punctuation, grammar) are important in presenting the strongest case possible. The recommended length is one to three pages, typed.
Because individual circumstances vary, the following pointers are intended only as general guidelines. You should address the issues most relevant to your situation. In most cases, letters of petition should answer the following questions:

Why do you want to attend the University of Washington?

What major are you interested in? How did your interest in this major develop?

If you are inadmissible because of your academic performance, why do you think your previous academic record (including grades or test scores) is an inaccurate predictor of your future academic performance? Please explain your academic record fully and tell us how you plan to be a successful student at the UW. Your explanation may include but is not limited to a discussion of circumstances and hardships such as personal or family illness, factors related to a disability, or familial or cultural barriers that may have affected your academic record.

Have you met with an academic adviser in your intended major? Do you have a clear understanding of the admission and graduation requirements for that major? Have you completed all the prerequisites for admission to the major?

If you have attended several institutions without graduating, please explain why graduation from the UW will now be possible.

If you are seeking admission to a capacity-constrained degree program, do you have a letter of support from the department? Such letters of support must arrive with the petition, either mailed in one large envelope or delivered in person.

Can you provide evidence of academic ability in recent coursework? For example, if your record shows a poor performance in the past but you have recently completed 30-45 credits with a high grade-point average, you would petition on the basis of strong recent grades. In other words, you are asking Admissions to consider you on the basis of a portion of your record, rather than averaging in recent grades with older ones.

How and When Will I Be Notified?

You will be notified of the committee’s decision approximately 1-4 weeks after your petition has been received.